After wrapping up our last Vancouver Island flotilla, Kevin and I flew from Victoria to NY for some work and some fun, and then returned and met up with Kevin’s mom for some Gulf Island cruising. We went around from Sidney to Tod Inlet and anchored there for the night.
The next day we dinghied in to Butchart Cove and spent most of the day exploring Butchart Gardens.
Kevin and his mom in the gardens:
We had reservations in The Dining Room at 1:30 p.m. We’d planned to do high tea, but when we arrived and looked at the lunch menu choices, we all opted for lunch instead.
After lunch we continued on with the rest of the grounds, heading next to the Sunken Garden (my favorite):
The dahlias were all in bloom and lovely:
We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather!
Back at Tod Inlet, the moon jellies were invading!
The next morning we cruised around and anchored out at Sidney Spit, dinghied ashore and hiked out to the lagoon and over to the other side of the island. Another gorgeous day!
From 1906 to 1915 the Sidney Tile and Brick Company operated here near the lagoon, now part of the marine park. The beaches are mostly brick!
Next up–back to Victoria!
We wandered the city a bit, grabbed some fish and chips at Red Fish Blue Fish, and enjoyed the beautiful waterfront.
We left Victoria at about 7:00 a.m. and headed back to Anacortes:
The forecast (both Environment Canada and Windy) was for 15-25 knot winds out of the north, but we never saw more than 10 knots and our cruise was calm and pleasant. We used the new CBP ROAM app to clear customs, which was cool and efficient. Kevin and I have NEXUS, but Kevin’s mom did not. We “added traveler” and scanned in her passport, clicked to report our arrival, then waited for our video interview.
During the video chat, the officer can see you but you can’t see him, and in our case, we couldn’t hear him either so he had to resort to typing his chat in the window while we spoke our answers. He asked to see Kevin’s mom via video chat, asked a couple questions, and we were quickly cleared. This is a pretty cool new process!
Back in Anacortes, we had about 24 hours to clean Airship out so she can be shown to prospective buyers. We didn’t get everything out, but we did a great job in a short amount of time, and filled the back of the truck wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling. And so there she is, all shiny and ready for her next owners! We’ll have her hauled this week for new bottom paint and zincs, and then she’ll be back sitting pretty on the main dock in front of Anthony’s if you want to take a look!
